Ballers prevail in Saturday night win over Paddleheads
Drewek drives in four, Hurley twirls six strong in victory
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
By Gareth Kwok
MISSOULA, MT – The Oakland Ballers held off a late push from the Missoula Paddleheads on Saturday night in an 8-5 victory at Allegiance Field at Ogren Park to take a three games to two lead in the series.
Davis Drewek drove in a game-high four runs and started the scoring in the fourth with a three-run homer that traveled 401 feet against Missoula starting right-hander Ryan Wentz (L, 2-1). It's the third homer of the series for Drewek.
Starting right-hander Charlie Hurley (W, 1-1) made a triumphant return after he was activated off the injured list before the game. The 24-year-old threw six strong innings and allowed just one run on one hit and two walks with six strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
An RBI single from Jake Allgeyer in the sixth, an RBI double from Drewek in the seventh, and RBI singles from Santos and Allgeyer in the eighth gave Oakland (10-13) its biggest lead of the night at 7-1.
Missoula (13-10) answered in the eighth with four runs in on back-to-back homers. Enzo Apodaca hit a three-run shot and Nich Klemp hit a solo blast to pull the Paddleheads within two.
Nick Leehey drove in a crucial insurance run in the ninth with an RBI double to push the Ballers lead up to three.
Braydon Nelson (S, 2) earned his second save of the season after recording the final five outs in scoreless fashion.
The Ballers conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon against the Missoula Paddleheads. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m from Allegiance Field at Ogren Park. Fans can tune in beginning at 12:50 p.m on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
